(a) Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to flat panel displays. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to liquid crystal displays (LCDs) having improved texture resistance and side visibility.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Presently one of the most widely used flat panel displays, a liquid crystal display (LCD) includes two sheets of display panels containing field generating electrodes such as pixel electrodes, common electrodes, etc., and a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween. The LCD displays an image by applying a voltage to the field generating electrodes to generate an electric field in a liquid crystal layer, determining directions of liquid crystal molecules through the electric field and thereby controlling polarization of incident light.
Different types of LCDs, including a vertical alignment (VA) mode LCD in which long axes of liquid crystal molecules are arranged to be perpendicular to display panels when no electric field is applied, have been developed. In the VA mode LCD, securing a wide viewing angle has been seen as an important issue, so for this purpose, a method of forming cutouts such as minute slits and the like in the field generating electrode is often used. Since cutouts and protrusions help determine tilt directions of the liquid crystal molecules, they can be appropriately disposed to diversify the tilt directions of the liquid crystal molecules in various directions, thereby realizing a wide viewing angle.
When the pixel electrode is formed with minute slits to have a plurality of branch electrodes, a response speed of the liquid crystal molecules deteriorates due to liquid crystal control that is not associated with the minute slits of the liquid crystal molecules, so undesirable texture is displayed for a predetermined time.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.